Crimson
by DuhStar
Summary: What happens when Edward and Al are unable to close the gate and have to resort to other means? And is there a philosopher's stone in the real world?


**Well, this is my first fan fiction. It's for what happens after the first anime of FMA & movie. This is only the first chapter, and hopefully there will be more! Please review and critique!**

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CHAPTER ONE

"Nii-san? Are you okay?" Edward's eyes opened slowly, the silhouette of his brother barely visible in his groggy state. He groaned and then sat up, leaning his arms back. Al was standing next to him, his worried gaze fixed on Edward's face. Edward furrowed his eyebrows and lifted a hand up to his face. He lowered his arm and looked at his moist finger. Tears? He thought, confusion clear in his golden eyes.

"…Nii—"

"I'm fine, I'm fine. Just that dream again." He nonchalantly waved off his brother's worry, wiping his face to remove any leftover residue. Al, still not convinced, placed himself stubbornly on the foot of the bed.

"The one with that girl?" Al's voice didn't sound like an inquiry. It was more of a confirmation of his guess. His brother had been having weird dreams for a while now, and they were all almost the same. His eyes still on Ed, he waited.

"Ah, yeah." Edward's voice was soft, and it worried Al even more. His brother seemed to be suffering. "Same girl." Ed swung his legs over the side of this bed, throwing his covers aside. He and Al sat there, in a long silence. Al, his eyes still watching Ed, opened his mouth to say something, but Ed turned his head and smiled.

"It's nothing. Just a dream, right?" He stood up and stretched, yawning as he did so. _Just…who is that girl?_ He touched his toes effortlessly then walked over to the closet in the room. He picked out a brown overcoat with dark trousers and casual shoes. "C'mon, Al. Let's have breakfast." Edward disappeared through the door, leaving his younger brother behind. Al crossed his legs.

"Edward, it's 12 pm. I've already had breakfast and was going to ask you to have lunch." You could tell he was irritated, his lips were curved in a pout.

"Ehhh!?" Edward's yell vibrated into Al's ears. His face was visible once more in the door's opening. "Why didn't you wake me up earlier!?...Ah, forget it! I'm going to be late for the exposition!" Then, golden haired man ran out, and the door could be heard as it was slammed shut. Al sighed and fell backwards onto his brother's bed.

A month had passed since Al and Ed have been trying to close the gate. They had been traveling, trying to find something big and something that would make it so no one could commit the same mistake as Dietlinde. Shamballa, as they called it, is a world that should not be brought together with this one. Two separate entities that must live side by side, but never touch. At first, Ed and Al wanted to try and explode the building to the ground. Those plans were foiled by the officials who had taken up base there. Envy's remains had stirred quite a bit of confusion amongst the officials. The government decided to hide the truth behind what happened in that building, what happened regarding the Nazis. It would only stir commotion; their reasoning. Ed and Al both disagreed with this. There was nothing wrong with the public knowing the truth. Boxing people up and hiding the truth would only encourage uprisings. The officials wouldn't listen and have left that place in quarantine, and the brothers have no way in. This had happened 3 weeks ago. Now, Al and his brother were trying to find a new way to destroy the gate. Sneaking in didn't work. Their plan now was to somehow infiltrate the place as scientists to 'study the gate'. Once inside, they would try to destroy it. It was a plan that would take a while, a lot of trusts would have to be built.

Ed ran through the crowd, pushing and rubbing, trying to get to the front. Every now and then he'd get jabbed by someone's elbow and the eventual curse could also be heard. He didn't care. He just needed to get to the front. Finally, his efforts seemed to be worth it as his eyes opened wide at the large machine in front of him. A man, tall of built, stood atop this machine, his voice clear and loud.

"…Will bring a whole new meaning to tanks!" Ed's eyes were scanning over the large tank, looking at the piece of machinery as if it were a precious jewel. Heinz Guderian, the man on the tank, was a master at creating building plans and such. He was Germany's best tank crazed scientist. In his previous career it has been said he was Hitler's military innovator. Ever since Hitler was put in jail, however, Guderian had been removed of his rank and power. He now pursued the life of a tank mechanic.

"So what does the government think about your new killing machine?" Ed's voice called out mockingly from the crowd. The man's expression quickly changed to anger as his eyes scanned over the audience. Finding Edward, the man retorted,

"The government of this country has grown into cowards. They don't understand that to reach the new age—"

"We have to get better weapons so we can kill more?" Ed retorted back at him, his voice now holding a deeper, more significant tone. Edward Elric did not like how men in this world were fanatics about advanced weapons. They wanted bigger, better, stronger. Back in Amestris, human weapons were used. Alchemists. In his world, it was about sacrificing your time and will into becoming a better alchemist to improve people's lives. The army wanted stronger men. "By humanity's means," not by "machine's means."

The man ground his teeth as people began whispering. Then, one by one, the crowd around the tank dispersed. The tall man stood quietly as all this happened, and when no one was near anymore, Ed jumped up on the tank.

"Sorry about that, but I needed your attention only on me." The man raised his head and glared at Ed.

"Tch." Was all he said. Curiosity seemed to spark in his angry eyes. Good, he's interested.

"I need a tank. As a rental, per say. No questions asked." Ed waved his hands nonchalantly. The man raised an eyebrow.

"Who are you?" He asked, notably interested.

"Edward Elric." Ed's voice came out with a blatant touch to it.

"Mr. Elric, I hope you realize that the funding—"

"That's my problem, right?" Ed said with a smile plastered on his face. Seriously, men like this. He jumped off of the tank, and the man watched him.

"I'm glad you're interested. I'll keep in touch." He began walking away, but it seemed as if the man wanted to still ask him something more. Jumping off as well, the bald man came up to him and placed his hand on his shoulder.

"Wait," Ed stopped. The man removed his hand.

"Was by chance, your father's name Hohenheim?" Ed's eyes opened a little wider. He turned around. The man's eyes portrayed slight familiarity. He knew my father? Ed contemplated and then decided to answer honestly.

"…Yes. How did you know him?" The man blinked. It seemed as if he was thinking about something serious.

"Would it be acceptable to talk over a cup of coffee?" His voice implied it was urgent. Edward felt something cold start to develop in his stomach. What did the man know? He nodded, and the man began walking towards a small coffee shop. After situating themselves, the man ordered himself something to drink. Ed sat across from him, his eyes never once leaving the man. His arm's were crossed, and his mind was buzzing with theories of what the man had to say.

"I personally knew your father. He and I were close friends before I joined the Nazis." He made the statement like an old man would talking about his old days in the army. "He told me not to do anything stupid." The man chuckled. "An English man wouldn't understand what it's like for us Germans, anyways." Ed nodded, inviting the man to go on. "And so, one day, I received a letter from him. On that letter it said, 'If you ever meet Edward, give him the following directions;....'" The man paused, closing his eyes. "I do not remember word by word what comes after that. There was an address, a picture of a circle and notes about something called, "alchemy". And inside the letter there was a red stone."

A first Edward had uncrossed his arms. Then, when the circle was mentioned, he had stood up. And when alchemy was mentioned, he ground his teeth.

Then, the red stone was something _else._

Edward's mind burst with thoughts. _The Philosopher's Stone? Here? Impossible! How could this world come across it? How long ago did my father write this letter?...Why didn't he tell me sooner?_ Shaking the thoughts away, he came back to this world.

"Can you take me to the letter? I mean, can you give it to me?" Edward's voice was demanding, the man picked up the tone.

"Of course. My house is near here." The man finished his coffee, and soon they were walking to his house.

What would Edward find there? Could there be a philosopher's stone in this Earth?

.....To be continued.


End file.
